Here's what I've been using lately do do my shopping, it's working pretty well for me so far. If I dress reasonably warmly I can ride down into the thirties without getting too uncomfortable, a little vigorous pedaling is remarkably warming. I've managed to carry two weeks worth of groceries plus a medium bag of dry dog food and not felt the trailer was overburdened, I could have carried another bag of dog food easily. The arched sides of the trailer fold upwards to make a frame for a nylon enclosure that is very nearly weather tight and easily as big as some car trunks.

I've had the bike for going on five years now but I just got the trailer this summer, both found on Craigslist. The bike is lighter than it looks and far superior to a regular bicycle for anyone who has back or neck problems, it's lovely to actually be able to look around at the scenery and traffic and not focus ten feet in front of your front tire. I go two miles on a regular bike and I'm in pain, I've done thirty plus on this without a problem.

Hit the thrift store/flea market circuit today and got several items that will allow me to save energy.

The first was a really big afghan for my bed, bright colors and in excellent shape, another layer on the bed will allow me to turn down the heater even more at night and still stay warm.

I also got a lightweight insulated pair of black bib overalls in windstop nylon, nice and flexible will allow me to keep it cooler in the daytime if energy becomes a problem. A pair of Hush Puppy type half boots to keep my feet nice and warm in the house too, much more comfortable than the sneakers I've been wearing and nearly new.

Total spent: $16.00

Time to save that much, probably a couple of months max, after that it's all lagniappe.

SAN JOSE, CA—With funding from dozens of news outlets and media companies, the groundbreaking Outkube.com launched this week, providing an online destination where pandering and incendiary content is used to lure moronic Internet commenters away from all other websites.

According to sources, Outkube boasts thousands of articles and forums carefully crafted to draw in dim-witted web users and effectively quarantine obtuse, uninformed comments on topics such as gay rights, Ryan Gosling, the threat of Sharia law in the U.S., health care reform, whether Kobe is better than LeBron, Jewish control of the government and media, the New York Jets, the Second Amendment, and professional wrestler John Cena.

Most stories on the site are reportedly preloaded with several witless and profanity-laden comments specially designed to incite retaliatory remarks.

"Outkube provides an immensely valuable public service," said YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar, one of the decoy website's founders and principal investors. "With its unparalleled expanse of sensational content and lack of filters or character limits on postings, Outkube attracts the broadest possible spectrum of jabbering halfwits—from paranoid reactionaries to know-it-all pricks to racists to plain old dumbfucks."

"Fourteen Democratic senators, led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), sent the Obama administration a letter on Tuesday asking for the scientific basis behind its decision to limit access to emergency contraception.

Last week, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rejected the Food and Drug Administration's conclusion that the Plan B One-Step pill was safe enough to be placed on pharmacy shelves without an age limit. The decision raised eyebrows because HHS has never before overruled the FDA on a drug recommendation. Many reproductive rights groups openly questioned whether the Obama administration was putting electoral politics above sound science ahead of next year's election.

"We are writing to express our disappointment with your December 7, 2011 decision to block the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommendation to make Plan B One-Step available over-the-counter," wrote the senators in their letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "We feel strongly that FDA regulations should be based on science. We write to you today to ask that you provide us with the rationale for this decision."

The senators asked Sebelius to share the "specific rationale and the scientific data" she relied upon when overruling FDA experts.